"Recount" script excerpt

email this story
read comments (75)
post a comment

I've been sent the script of Danny Strong's Recount, and it's as good as I'd heard and hoped it would be. As I wrote a couple of days ago, it's the basis of an HBO feature that Sydney Pollack will start directing within a few weeks' time (for airing in early '08), about the battle over the Florida returns in the wake of the 2000 presidential election and how the George Bush forces managed to finagle things in their favor at the end of the day.

I don't want to give anything anyway, but I thought I'd let everyone read a five-page excerpt that covers the back and forth between the Gore and Bush campaigns at the moment when everyone realizes the Florida election is too close to call. I chose this portion because much of the dialogue has been used and repeated in news stories and books about this historic political spin battle. But these five pages give you a sense of how cleanly written and down-to-it Strong's script is. Tell me if you don't agree.

One presumes that Pollack will refine and augment as he goes along, but even if he shoots exactly what's on the pages of this draft he'll have a pretty good film at the end of the day. The draft I have is 137 pages long. Here's page #20, #21, #22, #23 and #24.

The following quote appears on page 137, and again, I am revealing nothing as it is from a published dissenting opinion by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens regarding Bush. vs. Gore: "Although we may never know with complete certainty the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

First two "Sopranos"<< previous | next >>Thompson on print death

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 5, 2007 at 3:38 PM

comment #1

bipedalist says ...

Remember it like it was yesterday. So it's an HBO movie - I thought it was a feature for some reason.

Posted by bipedalist at April 5, 2007 4:33 PM

comment #2

jeffmcm says ...

Looks pretty one-sided and simplistic to me, and I say that as a committed progressive Dem. It definitely feels like TV-movie, not theatrical, product.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 4:33 PM

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

Wells to jeffmcm: The script is not simplistic and one-sided by my sights. In order for it not to be one-sided it would have to...what? Present George Bush a wise and fair-minded guy looking to do the right and through thing all around? And suggest that perhaps he really did win the election in terms of the popular vote in Florida and across the nation? And that the Supreme Court decision in his favor was totally impartial and unmotivated by political considerations? Something along those lines?

Posted by gruver1 at April 5, 2007 4:41 PM

comment #4

Walter Sobchak says ...

Next scene:

KARL ROVE (kicking a helpless puppy)
Then we'll just have to STEAL the election!

DICK CHENEY
Eeeexcellent.

They both break into demonic laughter.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at April 5, 2007 4:42 PM

comment #5

frankbooth says ...

Bush's presence is "overwhelming?" Sounds like fiction, all right.

Are they gonna get Timothy Bottoms to play him again? I still say Jason Alexander would make a good Dick.

Posted by frankbooth at April 5, 2007 4:43 PM

comment #6

jeffmcm says ...

It's hard to completely say without reading the whole script but it just seems to be playing out like someone's fantasy partisan notion of what happened. "Katherine Harris, passed out in her party clothes"? It all sounds like it could work if it was trying to be some kind of absurdist satire but instead it reads as wayyy too earnest and a little pompous.

But hey, if this is what passes for good screenwriting these days, it makes me feel better about myself.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 4:53 PM

comment #7

jeffmcm says ...

PS: Page 22 does not download.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 4:53 PM

comment #8

gruver1 says ...

Wells to jeffmcm: Page #22 is now fixed...thanks for telling me.

Posted by gruver1 at April 5, 2007 5:04 PM

comment #9

thevisceral says ...

The writer doesn't know the different between "your" and "you're." Did he start out as a poster on IMDb?

Posted by thevisceral at April 5, 2007 5:08 PM

comment #10

thevisceral says ...

*difference (duhhhhhhhh)

Posted by thevisceral at April 5, 2007 5:09 PM

comment #11

jeffmcm says ...

On page 22 he doesn't know the difference between "know" and "no".

The whole thing just reeks of mediocrity - look at how pleased he is to put "this is the actual conversation".

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 5:10 PM

comment #12

malibugigolo says ...

you guys are expecting a actor to no how tuh spell.

How elitist.

Posted by malibugigolo at April 5, 2007 5:18 PM

comment #13

GeeseOPlenty says ...

"You're little brother is not the ultimate authority"

Ack, I know, typos don't play in spoken dialogue, but they still get under my skin. I liked him better as Jonathan on Buffy than as one of them writer types.

Posted by GeeseOPlenty at April 5, 2007 5:39 PM

comment #14

Lloyd Dobler says ...

Jeff given a majority of the pages you have posted apparantly are the actual phone call that took place, we would have a much better idea of the overall tone and quality of the script if you posted 5 pages that take place outside what may have been transcribed word for word by reporters.

Posted by Lloyd Dobler at April 5, 2007 6:17 PM

comment #15

americanrat says ...

A fair depiction of the fracas would include (to begin with) three topics:

1) Gore's efforts to disenfranchise thousands of US servicepeople who voted by absentee ballot (a politically self destructive act that ensures he will never again run for US president or any other office).

2) The fact that the supreme court ruled 7-2 that Bush's civil rights would be violated by continuing the FL recount - but then 2 of the 7 justices ruled that this civil rights abuse should continue.

3) That none of the recount schemes proposed by the Gore team would have given him the FL electoral votes; the only one that would have was never advocated by Gore's legal team.

Also, I would open the movie with the Elian Gonzales raid, a willful Clinton family strategem that more than anything else ensured Gore would lose FL.

Posted by americanrat at April 5, 2007 6:20 PM

comment #16

jeffmcm says ...

Where's DZ when you need him.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 6:49 PM

comment #17

Lloyd Dobler says ...

Good points AR...especially the one about Gore's legal team and their poorly chosen recount strategy , one that would have failed even without the SC.

Posted by Lloyd Dobler at April 5, 2007 6:56 PM

comment #18

Stephe96 says ...

Gee, I wonder if this movie will mention the fact that Florida would've been meaningless if Gore could have only won his home state of Tennessee? Also, will they depict Dan Rather calling Florida for Gore HOURS before the polls closed? I'm sure THAT was an 'honest' mistake, huh?

By the way, a movie about a vote recount? I suppose Pollack can't possibly make that any more boring than 'The Interpreter' or 'Random Hearts.'

Posted by Stephe96 at April 5, 2007 6:58 PM

comment #19

christian says ...

danny's a pal and this is fucking awesome.

Posted by christian at April 5, 2007 7:06 PM

comment #20

sbunc92 says ...

I'm just glad Wells got the cum stains off the script page before scanning and posting it on the website.

Posted by sbunc92 at April 5, 2007 7:06 PM

comment #21

jeffmcm says ...

Of course, what you guys are avoiding is how much better-off the country would be today if the recount process had gone the other way.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 5, 2007 7:22 PM

comment #22

nemo says ...

Speaking of typos, why does the script refer to Jenna Bush as "Jenny" twice on page 22?

I think the Supreme Court decision handing the election to Bush was shameful, and the dissenting opinion was right on the money. But my reaction to this script excerpt is a big "I don't know about this".

But what the hell do I know? I've never worked in the film business, and I have no idea what a good or bad script looks like.

Posted by nemo at April 5, 2007 8:27 PM

comment #23

nemo says ...

Speaking of typos, the Jenna/Jenny business appears on page 21, not 22.

Posted by nemo at April 5, 2007 8:29 PM

comment #24

MPNeeb says ...

Whether Al Gore won Florida is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of the Election 2000.
Set aside hanging chads, butterfly ballots, and the Supreme Court (disgraceful but incidental), you realize that Gore couldn't even win his HOME STATE. He ran a horrible campaign (Bush 2- and I loath the man- didn't). If he had run something semi-competent, we'd be speaking of President Gore right now.

Posted by MPNeeb at April 5, 2007 8:54 PM

comment #25

Arnzilla says ...

Wells, does the script include the post-election recount implemented by the Miami Herald and USA Today which confirmed that Bush would've still won Florida if the Supreme Court sided with Gore?

Posted by Arnzilla at April 5, 2007 8:55 PM

comment #26

DarthCorleone says ...

Sorry, but the typo bothers me too. I read many scripts, and enough errors like that bias me, especially when the topic of the script is a "smart" one. It's one thing to dash something off as a rough draft and have errors like that, but once you let someone else read it the you're/your-variety should be corrected.

Who will be playing W. and Gore?

Posted by DarthCorleone at April 5, 2007 8:56 PM

comment #27

Terry McCarty says ...

Who will be playing W. and Gore? asked DarthCorleone.

Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond?

Posted by Terry McCarty at April 6, 2007 12:52 AM

comment #28

jeffmcm says ...

Gore's home state is D.C. which he won handily.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 1:08 AM

comment #29

Stephe96 says ...

DC is a state now? When did that happen?

Posted by Stephe96 at April 6, 2007 5:37 AM

comment #30

Me says ...

Terry - that is a fucking brilliant idea, getting Hammond and Ferrell!

As the script is already so over the top, if they just pushed it to the point of being nothing but satire on the ridiculous feelings that are still out there on both sides, it might actually work. As it is now, this is just one more embarrasment for Pollack.

Posted by Me at April 6, 2007 7:55 AM

comment #31

malibugigolo says ...

For the satire, they could have Gore in post election full beard mode doing a PSA for chicken farmers, and just as the 12 eggs are about to hatch.

GORE
Guess you'll have 12 new chickens Mr. Farmer!
FARMER
We got a sayin' on the farm, don't count all your chickens before they hatch.
GORE
I've never heard of that before.
FARMER
You're from Tennessee, right. You've been on a farm before...
GORE
(coughs)
Of course.

Gore wraps his arm around the Farmer and they start to walk away.
GORE
Your new saying reminds me of this time in my life.....
FARMER
But my chickens.
GORE
(holding him back)
Trust me, they will all hatch...anyway, back to me...

Posted by malibugigolo at April 6, 2007 8:08 AM

comment #32

mizerock says ...

"Gore ran a terrible campaign, therefore please ignore all of the ugly and quasi-legal actions which needed to be taken afterwards."

I'm not sure I want to revisit those days myself, so it's easy to see why America accepted a jaw-droppingly absurb Supreme Court "one-time-only" decision. Even now I can't really imagine a clear, powerful alternative narrative that would have ended things cleanly, given all that had happened up to that point.

Posted by mizerock at April 6, 2007 8:23 AM

comment #33

bipedalist says ...

"GORE
(holding him back)
Trust me, they will all hatch...anyway, back to me..."

Greatness. Love it.

Posted by bipedalist at April 6, 2007 8:28 AM

comment #34

christian says ...

david mamet spelled hannibal lecter "LECHTER" in his script. all the way through.

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 9:11 AM

comment #35

jeffmcm says ...

If Mamet handed his script to an assistant to proof-read they might not have picked that up; if anybody had ever proofread the above "Recount" pages it's the first thing they would fix.

Plus the scenes just seem incredibly obvious and superficial - no sense of any layering or irony or perspective other than 'Gore victimized, Bush a pampered baby'.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 10:38 AM

comment #36

transmogrifier says ...

You Americans are pathetic.

"The Republicans did this. Wah wah wah"

"The Democrats did this. Wah wah wah."

The most useless political system in the world, reducing everyone to cheerleaders blindly backing a team for whatever ridiculous reason.

Grow a pair and think for yourselves,

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 10:52 AM

comment #37

jeffmcm says ...

And where are you from where politicians are noble and government is efficient and candy grows on trees?

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 11:01 AM

comment #38

transmogrifier says ...

Oh, I'm sorry, would you like me to go over my point again, or would you like to continue getting all pissy about the fact that American politics is a moronic game of...I don't know, pick a sport?

Maybe all politians are corrupt, the world over, but is that a cast-iron defense against the blind partisan nature of your own politics? Or do I have to live there to fully appreciate the culture that reduces politics to a zero sum game?

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 11:10 AM

comment #39

jeffmcm says ...

I'm saying that I agree with Winston Churchill: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others which have been tried". Sniping at America's political system is pointless unless you want to suggest a better option.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 11:16 AM

comment #40

transmogrifier says ...

It seems strange to me that Americans only stop sniping at members of the rival political party in order to take down anyone criticizing their right to snipe at the rival political party.

Also: it amuses me that Americans assume they have the only truly democratic country. (Otherwise, you know, your quote makes no sense in this context)

My advice: try to allow more than two parties access to power.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 11:26 AM

comment #41

jeffmcm says ...

Yeah, well, go back to Russia.

Seriously though, until you can propose a political system that works better than ours, you're wasting your time. A parliamentary system is different, not necessarily better or worse, as can be judged by the huge differences in governmental competence and stability across Europe.

I'd still like to ask where you're from.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 11:36 AM

comment #42

transmogrifier says ...

I'm not arguing against democracy, just the American version.

I'm from New Zealand. We have two major parties (I think it's basic human nature to have an "Us v Then" outlook, though it's not necessary productive), but our system allows smaller parties to have some say in the governing of the country. And I think that is a true improvement over the American model.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 11:40 AM

comment #43

transmogrifier says ...

"Us vs Them"

I can't type.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 11:41 AM

comment #44

jeffmcm says ...

Maybe it is, but I think there are other things in our political system and culture that need fixing before breaking out of the two-party bind.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 11:47 AM

comment #45

christian says ...

"My advice: try to allow more than two parties access to power."

gee, you're a big brain. wish we arrogant americans had thunk of that. do y'all hear that HE readers? the blogger from new zealand says we just need to allow another party access to power.

this'll take like what, 5 to 15 minutes tops?

cool. yay for NZ.

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 12:00 PM

comment #46

transmogrifier says ...

I plead ignorance about that, because I don't live in America.

But it is disheartening to see such a powerful and rich (culturally, not monetarily) country simplify its politics to such a sub-human degree.

Republicans bad, Democrats good!

Democrats good, Republicans bad!

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 12:02 PM

comment #47

transmogrifier says ...

Thanks christian, for encapsulating my point in a nutshell. It wouldn't surprise me if you were a major political pundit for a nationwide media chain.

Keep the sarcasm flying. American politics is proud of you.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 12:05 PM

comment #48

jeffmcm says ...

Despite our massive budget and trade deficits, America is still massively wealthy monetarily, don't kid yourself.

Plus Christian is right - in the last fifteen years there have been attempts by the Reform Party and the Greens to muscle in with not much in the way of results.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 12:19 PM

comment #49

christian says ...

you clearly don't know anything about me or my politics which are a li'l more advanced than your paintbrush allows. please find one post in my history here where i've said "democrats good, republicans bad" in the simplistic manner of your own simplistic critique.

i vote, i protest, i give cash and i write/create to advance politics. america certainly needs a three party system but until the bad dems and worse repubs allow that, we're slightly fucked.

but your glib perspective has been enlightening.

now back to hobbiton with ye.

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 12:23 PM

comment #50

mizerock says ...

Subtlety, doubt, and compromise positions have no place in any public format - they are just a form of Weakness that the Enemy will use against you. It may not even matter if this thuggishness is really a winning strategy in the long-run, because the genie is already out of the bottle. Besides, the ends justfy the means, and in the long-run we are all dead anyway - right?

Posted by mizerock at April 6, 2007 12:27 PM

comment #51

rocco says ...

jeffmcm...this is debatable, but without Ross Perot's catatonic stare, Bill Clinton would still be in Arkansas wolfing down McDonalds. Whether he actually altered the outcome of that election is irrelevant; the fact is a third party DID influence recent history enough to even raise the debate.

And why are you and christian wasting time defending the acrimonious state of affairs in this country? The lack of tolerance on either side, R or D, is palpable. Christ, have we come to the point that even moderate criticisms of our current political climate are off base?

Posted by rocco at April 6, 2007 12:28 PM

comment #52

christian says ...

i'm all for slammin' our political scene.

it's just that transmogrifier laid it to blame on us in a combative umbrella wider than his own j'accuse of our intolerant acquiesence...dig?

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 12:31 PM

comment #53

jeffmcm says ...

My points are (a) No third-party movement has had any appreciable impact in electing _their own_ candidates, which is vey different from taking votes from Clinton or Bush 1 (Perot took equally from both) or Gore, which should be the real mark of success - there are no Reform or Green members of Congress.
And (b) that I'm not defending 'the acrimonious state of affairs in this country, I'm demanding that Transmogrifier expand his comments beyond his original post, which was itself petty and pointless.

Posted by jeffmcm at April 6, 2007 12:34 PM

comment #54

rocco says ...

I dig...

...I can't hear someone say the word transmogrify without thinking of Morgan Freeman in 'Lean on Me'...

Posted by rocco at April 6, 2007 12:37 PM

comment #55

Craig Kennedy says ...

I'm not making any excuses for our broken system, but I think it might be a little more difficult governing the United States than it is a nation with less than half the population of Los Angeles county.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 6, 2007 12:46 PM

comment #56

christian says ...

and who are all plucky hobbits happy to spend the day walking on and smoking the grass...

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 12:50 PM

comment #57

Craig Kennedy says ...

I'm slightly embarassed but highly amused by my fellow countryman's sneering dismissals.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 6, 2007 1:02 PM

comment #58

christian says ...

it's all reciprocal. sneer at me for america's ills and i'll call you a stoned happy hobbit. i wouldn't mind being a stoned happy hobbit in nz...

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 1:05 PM

comment #59

echoes14 says ...

"america certainly needs a three party system but until the bad dems and worse repubs allow that, we're slightly fucked."

Until they "allow" it? Isn't it we, the voting public, who ultimately allow anything that happens in this country? At least that's the way it SHOULD be if more people would actually get out and vote.

Posted by echoes14 at April 6, 2007 2:24 PM

comment #60

christian says ...

last time i checked, the system didn't let dems or repubs step up for a third party. it's the one thing they unite on though...

that's why "they" don't want a voting holiday. cos people might vote.

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 2:27 PM

comment #61

Josh Massey says ...

"Also, will they depict Dan Rather calling Florida for Gore HOURS before the polls closed?"

Amen. This is the most conveniently ignored fact by the Dems. The media was declaring a winner quite a while before polls closed in the heavily conservative panhandle, likely siphoning thousands and thousands of votes away from Bush.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 6, 2007 5:22 PM

comment #62

transmogrifier says ...

I recant my claims that "You Americans are pathetic"

Merely a cheap jibe to get attention in a blog where political talk easily gets funnelled into "you Dems are poopy-heads"-level debate.

Americans are just a random bunch of boring, neurotic, lovable, unlovable, selfish, generous, articulate, inarticulate, forward-thinking, backward-thinking people, much like every other country on earth. But I do think that your political system - and the way people use ti to demonize half of their fellow citizens - could use some work.

Trouble is, whenever I offer this observations, most Americans jump down my throat and tell me how pathetic my own country is, rather than take the idea on its merits (or lack thereof, as the case may be) and rationally consider it.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 5:49 PM

comment #63

christian says ...

gee, i don't know how people could jump down your throat for your clear headed humble backhanded condemnations. did you leave anything out of your list of what americans are? is that final?

your love of the hobbit's weed has made you stoned.

Posted by christian at April 6, 2007 6:03 PM

comment #64

Craig Kennedy says ...

It's like this Transmogrifier: It's ok for a guy to make fun of his own ugly wife, but when his coworker starts doing it, it's not so cool.

I'm sure New Zealand is a lovely, charming country and I hope to visit it some day, all I said was that, by comparison, it's lacking a certain scale and might therefore be a little easier to govern.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 6, 2007 6:20 PM

comment #65

Craig Kennedy says ...

I hope they show Dan Rather saying crazy shit like "This race is tighter than the lug nuts on a '37 Chevy pickup truck."

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 6, 2007 6:53 PM

comment #66

transmogrifier says ...

Re: CJK

Easier to govern? I would assume so. I was supposed to be referring way back in my (over-the-top, inebriated) first post to political discourse in America, rather than the system per se. I don't think it is overstepping the unwritten rules of criticism to be dismayed by how people interact with each other once a political topic rears its head. That's all I was reacting to, but I admit I succumbed to lazy hyperbolae and decided to be noticed, rather than logical. Parallel?

Re: christian. Dude, say what now?

Re: the movie. It'll be terrible. I don't think there is anything inherently interesting in the scenario that can survive the rancour it will face over its "fairness". Seems to be a collossal waste of time at this point in history. Maybe 20 years from now, it'll stand a chance of being more than a dry rehash of a sensitive topic.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 7:28 PM

comment #67

Craig Kennedy says ...

As long as we're clear I cop to being defensive and I'm not crapping on your country.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at April 6, 2007 7:33 PM

comment #68

rocco says ...

" I fell down on MY KNEES and yelled out...MY GOD!! Why has THOU forsaken ME!!??"

Sorry...just can't get 'Lean on Me' out of my head now...

Tranny, your thesis is kosher; a fare share of Americans are righteous and self-aggrandizing peasants...but cj's right...it's not very nice to point at the person who farts in the elevator...

Posted by rocco at April 6, 2007 7:44 PM

comment #69

transmogrifier says ...

Fair enough.

Posted by transmogrifier at April 6, 2007 11:05 PM

comment #70

Josh Massey says ...

During an interview for Random Hearts, I told Sydney Pollack that, as a conservative, I was impressed to see a likable Republican in that film (Kristin Scott Thomas's character). He laughed, and we had a nice conversation about political bias in Hollywood films. So I trust that this film can be relatively even-handed - it's just that I can't imagine it won't be boring as hell.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 7, 2007 6:00 AM

comment #71

Stephe96 says ...

Also, I hope they include scenes of Florida Democrats designing, testing and then approving their now-infamous "Butterfly Ballots." And then jumping up and down, screaming that the election was "stolen" because the ballots were too confusing.

Of maybe the producers will just include a scene of Karl Rove forcing the Dems at gunpoint to use the confusing ballots.

Posted by Stephe96 at April 7, 2007 8:16 AM

comment #72

christian says ...

i can't wait to see the scene with the rove orchestrated attack on the recount office by rabid out of state republicans...

Posted by christian at April 7, 2007 11:37 AM

comment #73

Josh Massey says ...

Sorry, Christian - the film is non-fiction.

Posted by Josh Massey at April 7, 2007 5:43 PM

comment #74

Steve Rhodes says ...

If all the votes in Florida had been counted (not even including all the people who didn't mean to vote for Pat Buchanan), Gore would have won the electoral vote as well as the popular vote.

http://consortiumnews.com/2001/111201a.html

Perhaps this movie will help to finally get rid of electoral college. In a democracy, the candidate with the most votes should be president.

Even better would be instant runoff voting.

Posted by Steve Rhodes at April 7, 2007 9:19 PM

comment #75